Hospital Bills vs. No-Fault and Health Plan Claims in Kentucky

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

We found no Kentucky statute that gives a hospital or doctor a lien on your injury settlement. A no-fault insurer recovers from the at-fault driver's insurer, not from you, and your damages from that insurer have priority over its reimbursement.

No statutory provider lien

We searched the Kentucky chapters on health facilities, public assistance and rights of action for a hospital or provider lien and found none, and a law-firm compilation of Kentucky subrogation law says there is no statutory provision. A provider may still be owed its bill and may have contract rights, for example under an admission agreement or a letter of protection. Ask for an itemized bill and anything you signed.

No-fault (basic reparation) insurers

A reparation obligor that paid basic reparation benefits is subrogated to your rights against any person other than a secured person, and may recover what it paid from the reparation obligor of a secured person, by joining your action or by reimbursement, with recovery limited to the liability coverage available (KRS 304.39-070). If you are entitled to damages from a second person's liability insurer, collecting them has priority over the subrogee's reimbursement (304.39-140(3)).

Your attorney and the no-fault claim

An attorney representing a secured person in a tort action is entitled to a reasonable fee if the reparation benefits paid to that person are reimbursed by the tortfeasor's insurance carrier, or the claim is settled by that carrier before suit (304.39-070(5)).

Directing no-fault benefits

An insured may direct payment of no-fault benefits among elements of loss and may explicitly direct payment of benefits for related medical expenses already paid to reimburse a health benefit plan, Medicaid, Medicare or a Medicare supplement provider (304.39-241). That can use your $10,000 of benefits to repay those payers, so think about which expenses it should cover.

Health plans and next steps

A health plan's claim is governed by case law and contract; see our post on made-whole, the Medicare and Medicaid post and the Kentucky medical lien calculator.

This is general information, not legal advice, and the state comparisons above are illustrative, not an exhaustive survey. Confirm how Kentucky's rules apply to your specific case with a licensed Kentucky attorney.